Bainet History Timeline

Although a real endeavor to trace the history of Bainet requires careful searching through archives and collecting oral traditions, we have began an attempt with a simple timeline or chronology. We have largely drawn from Madiou, Ardouin, Rouzier's geographical tomes, Moreau de Saint-Mery, Haitian journals and publications like Le Moniteur or Le Matin, and travel accounts. In addition, any references to Bainet we find in the secondary literature are occasionally sources of information. Furthermore, we did include dates from the precolonial and Spanish colonial period, even though there is no evidence of a Spanish colonial settlement at what later became known as Bainet. However, if the short-lived colonial town of Yaquimo was indeed located near modern Jacmel, we suspect there would have been small indigenous communities in the surrounding area (including today's Bainet) before and during that era. In addition, there are obvious more events or developments in the French colonial period that must be taken into account, such as the free people of color population and the enslaved population. 

pre-1492: Indigenous presence suggested by finds during French colonial period. A cave with human remains was found, said to have been used as a site of refuge to escape the Spanish (but possibly far older)

1499: Arrival of Alonso de Ojeda in Yaquimo, apparently with a goal to enslave Indians.

1503: Murder of Anacaona and several other Xaragua elites, orchestrated by Ovando.

1504: Foundation of the pueblo of Yaquimo. According to Moreau de Saint-Mery, it was built at the site of modern Aquin, although others suggest Jacmel. According to Las Casas, the area around Yaquimo was called Brasil by Columbus due to its ample brazilwood. Intriguingly, there is a section of Bainet called Bresilienne. 

1506: Diego Velazquez alcalde of Villanueva de Yaquimo

1514: Repartimiento indicates displacement of part of Yaquimo's Indian population, which was sent to mining centers of the island. Among Yaquimo caciques with indigenous names are the following: Taubacote, Camaguarex, Cataguaco, Cayguan Guaraba, Domanicarey, and Macaoquicios. Overall, around 1039 Indians, according to Martinez Almanzar.

1516: Map of Hispaniola by Andres de Morales made. Appears to place Yaquimo at the site of today's Jacmel.

by 1520: Yaquimo deserted

1577: Spanish colonial sources mention Indian and black population in Yaquimo, on a ranch

1678: Publication of Exquemelin's famous book on the buccaneers. Mention of Jacmel and Aquin as ports with ample amounts of brazilwood 

1698: Foundation of Compagnie de Saint-Domingue

1703: Census listed families established in Bainet and nearby parishes, including the Saugrain

1718: Bainet became a parish

1725: Law passed prescribing the construction of a church in Bainet

1730: Census found about 700 slaves and only 12 free people of color. 57 indigo plantations in Bainet.

1739: Census indicates growth of coffee plantations and the 'disappearance' of free people of color (presumably classified as 'whites')

1740: 67 Indigo plantations in Bainet

1744: Birth of Julien Raimond

1751: Much of Bainet town destroyed in a hurricane

1773: Nicolson finds Indian remains in Gris-Gris inside a cave

1775: Ordinance established a brigadier

1776: M. de Ennery ordered rebuilding the road from Gris-Gris to Aquin

1781: Hurricane in September destroyed the church

1788: Census indicates 1934 free people of color in Jacmel quartier

1789: Moreau de Saint-Mery described Bainet as having 20 cotton plantations, 20 indigoteries, and 70 coffee plantations. The militia had 60 whites and 240 affranchis. In terms of population Moreau de Saint-Mery wrote it contained 388 whites, 800 affranchis and 5,500 slaves.

1791: Free people of color in Bainet said to be so powerful that the whites didn't send a representative to the colonial assembly in Le Cap. Rebellion of Romaine the Prophetess said to have affected Bainet (at least 3 whites killed by blacks in insurrection, and buried in Bainet, according to Terry Rey). Moreover, Alexandre Boursiquot was accused of orchestrating the killings of 30 whites in Bainet.

1793: Report of Roume of 3000 rebel slaves, led by a white, who sacked Bainet, Jacmel and Cayes de Jacmel

1800: Dessalines takes Bainet from pro-Rigaud forces

1802: Commandant Guillaume authorized former slaves establishing homesteads in the hills for the fee of one gourde. Colonel Gilbon said to have led the insurgents of Bainet's hills against the French (same man?)

1814: Coffee estates Villard and Montra put for sale to increase the number of proprietors

1817: Arbouet listed as representant of Bainet

1818: President Boyer visited Bainet, lowering taxes for some, adjudicating disputes

1819: Thomas Madiou wrote of 5 schools in Bainet, teaching students how to read. Two in the valley, two at Jamaisvu, one at Primature and one in the town. The schools taught a total of 62 students how to read and write. It appears that they were supported or maintained by parents of the students.

1820: Jacques Fequant became new magistrat of Bainet. Colonel Aubin became new commandant de la place of Bainet.

1821: Jean Pierre, residing in Bainet, condemned to die for participating in two murders with Francois dit Aoussa

1823: President Boyer visited Jacmel, where people from Bainet, Marigot, and Saltrou flocked to see him.

1824: Boyer said to have sent many African American immigrants to Bainet (but evidence is lacking).Obin Renaud was commandant de la place. 

c.1825: Census figures included in Mackenzie's Notes on Haiti indicate 7,983 people lived in Bainet

1831: Toussaint Louis condemned for taking a horse from Jean Francois

1833: Jean Joseph Lande filed a case against the lieutenant of the rural police, Alexis Chaumeil, for beating him

1834: Colonel Lemaire commandant of Baynet 

1839: Pierre-Sanon Soliman murdered his brother, Miracle Solimon. 

1840: Bainet's Trou Mahot section under command of lieutenant Charles. Grande-Colline led by Nestant Jacques. Petit Bras led by Garcon Cazales. Mazonne led by Nicaise Jacques, Jamaisvu by Saint Juste Marcille, Gandou by Justin Bourgouin, Gris-Gris by Pointdujour, Bras de la Croix by Michel Juste. In Bainet alone, 1898 habitations or farms in 1840, with only 12 poorly cultivated.

1842: Raphael Pisano listed as priest of Bainet

1843: Garde nationale of Bainet joined the side of the liberal rebels against Boyer's government

1845: Louis Scutt commandant of the commune of Bainet, Michel Lubin inspector of cultures in the commune of Bainet. Mathieu Douge was juge de paix

1846: Fight between Saint Jacques Julien and Cadet Mafonta leads to the latter's death

1847: President of Haiti sent General Villebon to inspect Bainet 

1849: Conseil de Notables includes Jourdain fils, Ferdinand Duchemin, Rousselin Carriere, Joseph Fortin, and Jean Ambroise

1853: Emperor Soulouque in Bainet. His recovery from illness leads to celebrations.

1865: Abbey Demoy vicar of Bainet

1867: Jean Domingue the deputy for Bainet

1869: Piquets defeated in July (in context of Salnave and civil wars engulfing the country)

1872: Bernier as deputy of Bainet

1873 (or 1874?) Augustin Dorsan Ambroise deputy for Bainet

1874/5: Trou Mahot section created through the division of Brésilienne

1880: Announcement in Le Moniteur for a public concert in Bainet in August. The music program includes classical compositions.

1881: Magistrat of Bainet a A. Jean-Baptiste. Representative Polanco of Bainet solicited state funds for the construction of the church of Bainet.

1883: Cultivateurs of Bainet among the forces of Francois Manigat against Jacmel

1888: A. Jean-Baptiste a constituant of Bainet

1890: Population of 12,000; President Legitime sent forces from Bainet against Jacmel

1896: An address to the president of Haiti by citizens of Bainet is published in Le Moniteur

1898: President Sam visited Bainet, where arcs of triumph were established for him

1908: Address by the people of Bainet to the President of Haiti published 

1912: Haitian painter Micius Stephane born in Bainet

1917: Birth of painter Edger Jean-Baptiste.

1926: Gerald Bloncourt born in Bainet. Paul Laguerre named as member of Communal Commission. 

1928: Drought in the arrondissement of Jacmel particularly hurt Bainet. But flooding occurred in November in Bainet

1931: Article in Le Matin on Bainet mentions President Vincent's campaign stop there for the 1930 Presidential Election

1932: Letter published in Le Nouvelliste mentions economic hardship in Bainet since 1928, and difficulties paying taxes

1935: Murder of Deputy Ferere Laguerre (as well as his other relatives) in a feud with the Pierre-Louis family

1937: Christian Adrien mentioned in Le Nouvelliste as magistrat of Bainet

1950: Rossini Pierre-Louis still serving as Deputy of Bainet 

1953: Haiti Sun runs an article on Bainet entitled "Venus of Haiti"

1963: Bainet struck by Hurricane Flora

Early Bainet, Jacmel, and Some Origins of Gens de Couleur

1703 Census translated and transcribed by De Ville.

We here at the blog are very interested in the history of Bainet. Thus, we could not resist preserving a copy of De Ville's translation of a 1703 census for the Jacmel quarter, which included Bainet. Taken just five years after the Compagnie de Saint-Domingue established Jacmel in 1698, it shows how underpopulated that region of Saint Domingue was in the early 1700s. The only plantations appear to have been indigo, and the entire black population was around 107 individuals (3 were free). Unexpectedly, there was a large gender imbalance among the white population, with about 12 adult women and 30 adult males and 9 garcons carrying arms. 

The black population also had more adult males than females, but the difference wasn't as stark. Moreover, the underpopulated Jacmel quarter only had indigo plantations or farms, with only 7 of the listed households owning an indigoterie. Presumably the rest, the vast majority, grew subsistence crops or provided services to the Compagnie de Saint Domingue or the owners of the indigo plantations. Perhaps some of the less fortunate whites were formerly indentured laborers, brought by the Compagnie or an earlier entity, and were only beginning to establish themselves as habitants by 1703. 

Baptism of Jean Baptiste Cange in 1719

Bainet's presence in the list can be found in numerous names listed here, whose largely mixed-race descendants formed an important part of the area in the rest of the 18th century. For example, Sougrain, Robin, Cangé and possibly Moreau, Bonnefoy, and Lemaire were surnames used by various free people of color families in and around Bainet, Jacmel, and Grand-Goave for the rest of the century. Presumably, they are the descendants of the white colons already in the area in 1703, and the enslaved or free people of color who married or bore children by them and their descendants. Historians have often pointed out the prevalence of interracial marriages in Bainet during the early decades of the 1700s, particularly that of white men lacking property and propertied women of color. 

Baptism of Jeanne Butet in 1709, the woman we suspect was a sister of Marguerite Butet

For instance, one of the surnames we have been researching, Cangé, was associated with a very large number of people in the area who were descendants of a Jean Celin Cangé who married a free "mulatto" named Marguerite Butet (probably the daughter of Rene or Louis Marin Buttet). While we are still unsure of who the two adult Cangé listed in this 1703 census was, we believe the Cangé name was brought to the area by two brothers or cousins. The first baptismal record for a Cangé born in the area, Jean Baptiste Cangé, indicates his parents were Jean Cangé and Marguerite Courville. 

1728 baptism in Jacmel parish of Marie Jeanne, child of Jean Cange and Marguerite. Jeanne Butet was the godmother.

It seems possible that the Jean Cangé who married Marguerite and began having several children (Jean Baptiste, Louis Celin, Pierre, Marguerite, Marie Jeanne) was probably one of the children listed in the Cangé household in 1703. Perhaps his wife's surname was mistakenly written as Courville in 1719, but she seems to have used Butet in most records identifying her (unless Jean Celin remarried another Marguerite in the 1720s). She was also connected to a Jeanne Butet, fille naturelle of Rene Butet and a free black woman, who moved to Jacmel and married a Boursicot. Some of their descendants would marry, too, further solidifying the family and property ties between some of the Cangé and Boursicot in the Jacmel and Bainet parishes. 

Baptism of a child whose godmother was Marguerite Butet, still alive in 1776

Regardless of the ultimate origins of the Cangé name in Saint Domingue, the marriage of Marguerite Butet and Jean Cangé was advantageous for both. Marguerite, through her father and uncle, had ties to early planters and administrators in the colony. Marriage to Marguerite could have helped the Cangé politically and economically, eventually paving the way for them to establish a coffee plantation in Grand-Goave. Clearly, in 1703, the Cangé household did not own an indigo plantation and they only owned 2 female slaves and 3 horses. Strategic marriage with a woman of color whose family were landowners and serving in the administration of the colony must have been a step up for Jean Cangé and increased the status of his mixed-race progeny. His free people of color children and grandchildren usually married other free people of color, and established themselves as coffee planters and left behind many descendants. We believe that it is likely most people with the Cangé surname and roots in Bainet, Jacmel, and Grand-Goave are descendants of these people in some fashion, as well as the enslaved majority of the population in the colonial era. Unfortunately, it is far more difficult to trace our enslaved forebears, but that will obviously occupy much of our future research into Bainet's history during the 18th century.